Monday, July 9, 2012

I've posted about the ambitious Siike Donnelly's plans to save the world before. Well, what started as a Superman pitch to DC comics has evolved into a creator-owned endeavor with none of the corporate shackles that might limit such a project's ability to raise awareness and do some good for brain aneurysm survivors, their families, and the doctors innovating the future of aneurysm treatment.

Here's the official press release from Siike with all of the do-goody details:

Los Angeles, CA - July 7, 2012 – A brain
aneurysm survivor aims to share his love for comic books, and his writing
ability, to recruit artists for a very personal project that will save more
lives like his.

30-year-old Siike (seek) Donnelly survived a
subarachnoid hemorrhage, commonly known as a brain aneurysm, in 2010. Having to
rebuild his speech pattern and learn to walk again, Siike has reached out to
other aneurysm survivors, finding that very little is being done to not only
raise awareness to something that could affect anyone at any moment, but also
found very little money being raised as well. Today, he aims to change that.

"I’m one of the lucky ones. Most people
don’t survive a brain aneurysm, and of those that do, most suffer from
disabilities,” said Siike Donnelly. “Though I have new daily obstacles, I want
to take advantage of the world I’m connected to, and love more than anything,
to help me raise awareness and funds through something as simple as a comic
book.”

In recent months, Siike has gathered nearly a
dozen artists for his cause, even starting up his own company called “The Naïve
Project.” Through his company, Siike will publish a comic book called Solestar,
a Japanese character of his creation, who has an origin set during the bombing
of Hiroshima.

“I wanted to create a superhero that knew loss
right from the start. It’s kind of the staple when creating someone with
powers. They have to come from tragedy to obtain victory. This is something I
now understand on a personal level. Hopefully victory follows my tragedy with
this project.”

The concept is simple; Siike, a published author
of two books, “Rhino” and “Heaven’s Echo”, has written a 55 page story that
focuses on Solestar’s final day on Earth, December 25th, 2099. He is
asking for 55 artists from anywhere in the world to email him, read his script,
and pick a page that they are willing to donate to the cause. With a dozen
artists already on board, including Kate Carleton, Paul Barnes, Aaron Pierce,
Renzo Ventrella, Christian Leaf, Martin Dunn, Neil Kapit, Jim Dewey, Jenai
Pellerin, and more coming on board each week, Siike is a 5th of the
way to his goal in just 2 short months.

Once all 55 pages are completed and compiled as a
“jam” style comic, it will be packaged with a few pages about brain aneurysms,
information on the people sponsoring the comic book, the Brain Aneurysm
Foundation (www.bafound.org), and a short
story featuring unused artwork and photos to show how this project all came
together. Siike hopes to have the 100 page graphic novel print ready by
Christmas of this year, 2012. It will sell for $10, in limited supply at first,
with all proceeds going to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

There are six million people in the United States
at this very moment with an unruptured brain aneurysm. At any second, it could
burst, with a great chance at ending their life. For those that survive a brain
aneurysm, it’s guaranteed they will experience another in their lifetime. It’s
averaged out that every 18 minutes, someone suffers from one of these ruptures.
Siike hopes his comic book will change those statistics.

“It’s important that people just know about this.
Raising money with this comic will help those already affected but the
knowledge inside the pages alone could save a life that has yet to be affected.
I think that’s kind of cool, a superhero that will actually save a life. I hope
we can see more of that in the future.”

At The Naïve Project, a quote adorns any spot
that Siike can find room for it. It’s from his favorite superhero of all time,
Mr. Christopher Reeve.

The quote reads, “At first dreams seem
impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.” Saying that Siike is a
dreamer is an understatement. And though some may not see the irony in the name
he gave his company, Siike shows no fear for the many obstacles that still lie
ahead.

“My concept may seem stupid to some, a waste of
time to others, but trying to do something good is never any of those things.
During my attempts at getting this project off the ground I’ve run across
people that have tried to stop it, bring it down, and take personal shots at
me. I let them, because I know they are wrong. The life I save could be their
mother, father, significant other, or child. I can endure a few haters knowing
the end result will be someone not going through what I went through, or what
someone who had it worse than me went through. Hopefully there are 43 more
artists out there that appreciate and respect what I’m trying to do. Hopefully
they’ll join us.”

CALL TO ACTION

Being a geek is EXPENSIVE! But fanboys and fangirls spend so much of their time and money on kitsch and fluff, stuff and nonsense, and pricey toys that adding a few extra bucks to the weekly pull-list budget or rounding off the cost of that life-size stuffed Jawa to the nearest dollar wouldn't make a single one of them blink. What if that extra dollar a week went toward the fight to cure autism? What if it went toward the expansion of the pediatric center of a cancer hospital? What if the extra dollar thrown into the pot by a thousand geeks every week for a month went to help just one sick child with limited health insurance get the treatment she needs?

So let's do it! Don't give that money to us. Give it to them. Or find some other way to channel your creativity to help them. Just do something. There will be plenty of time for your own escapism after you spend a few moments (and hopefully a few pennies) improving someone else's reality. When you're done reading about do-gooders for $3.99 a pop, go out a do some good of your own.

FOUNDER

Matt Bergin, the co-creator of Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers and moderator of the Comic Blog Elite, started this blog as a distraction after a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Now, one thyroid lighter and able to debunk any myths about radiation giving you special powers, Matt is taking a cue from his super heroes and trying to do some good. There's no cure for comics, but through our efforts, comics can cure!